Tag Archives: Bari Pipes

Is this Beautifully Grained Freehand Dublin a Viggo Nielsen Made Bari Too?

by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a pipe that neither Jeff or I remember purchasing it so we have no date and no history on the pipe. The stamping on the underside of the Dublin’s shank was present but not readable. It appeared to have some stamping there and from discussion with Jeff we agreed that it looked like it could read Bari. Certainly, the shape and finish certainly fit the Viggo Nielsen carved Bari pipes. It could also be a Viggo pipe like some of the previous ones I have worked on. To me the shape and the finish on the pipe look like a Bari. The bowl is smooth and has some beautiful straight grain around the bowl and shank. The plateau rim top was dirty with grime and also light lava overflowing from recently carved bowl. It was an intriguing pipe with a combination of smooth finish and plateau rim top. The fancy vulcanite saddle stem fit snug against the shank end. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It was lightly oxidized but there was not any calcification. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took some close-up photos of the rim top and bowl to show the overall condition. There is dust and lava in the grooves of the plateau. The bowl had been recently reamed though the inner edge seems to have a light lava overflow but underneath it appears to be in good condition. The fancy turned vulcanite stem is dirty and has calcification on both sides at the button. There is also some light tooth chatter and some tooth marks. Past the turning the stem is a tapered flair. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos show the beautiful grain around the bowl. Under the dust and grime it was a nice looking bowl. I think it will be a beautiful Dublin shaped Freehand pipe once it is restored. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping is there but hardly readable. On the shank end using a bright light to examine it, both Jeff and I see the stamping Bari very faintly.I have worked on quite a few Bari’s in the past and did the work on the brand information so rather than rework all of that I am including the information I found while working on a Bari De Luxe Freehand. I quoted a section from Pipedia on Bari pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). I am including the material that I found previously on the brand. It is good to be reminded of the fact that Viggo Nielsen was the pipe maker. I quote:

Pipedia states that Bari Piber was founded by Viggo Nielsen in Kolding, Denmark around the turn of 1950/51. His sons Kai and Jørgen both grew into their father’s business from a very young age and worked there till 1975. Both have become successful pipe makers.

Bari successfully adapted the new Danish design that had been started mainly by Stanwell for its own models. Bari was sold in 1978 to Van Eicken Tobaccos in Hamburg, Germany though the pipes were still made in Denmark. From 1978 to 1993 Åge Bogelund and Helmer Thomsen headed Bari’s pipe production.

Helmer Thomson bought the company in 1993 re-naming it to “Bari Piber Helmer Thomsen”. The workshop moved to more convenient buildings in Vejen. Bogelund, who created very respectable freehands of his own during the time at Bari got lost somehow after 1993. Bari’s basic conception fundamentally stayed the same for decades: series pipes pre-worked by machines and carefully finished by hand – thus no spectacular highgrades but solid, reliable every day’s companions were what they turned out. The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

Now that I was reminded about the Viggo Nielsen connection it was time to work on the pipe on my end. When I received it Jeff had once again done an amazing job cleaning the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and soaked in Before & After Deoxidizer. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the plateau rim top to show how clean it was. The inner edge of the rim and the ridges and valleys of the plateau looked good. The stem looked good but there was a strange bump mid stem on the topside ahead of the button and also on the underside. They were odd as they did not have cracks or holes just two bumps. The tooth marks and chatter really were minimal.The stamping on the underside of the shank was very faint. I tried to capture it a bit but even an enlarged photo is not able to capture the stamp clearly. I also took a photo of the pipe and stem separated to give a sense of the proportion of the pipe. The bowl was in decent condition so I started with polishing the sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping down the briar after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The briar began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the smooth briar with my fingertips and the plateau and sandblasted side with a horsehair shoe brush. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. I appreciate Mark Hoover’s work in developing this product. I buffed the pipe with a micro fiber cloth to raise the shine and took photos of it at this point it the process. It is a beautiful looking pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of Bic lighter to soften the surface. Once it was soft I flattened out the bumps in the stem surface with a wooden pen knife cover. Once it was flat I sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished out the scratch marks left behind by the sandpaper. The stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem surface. I am on the homestretch with what I believe is another Viggo Nielsen made Bari Freehand. As always, I am excited to finish a pipe that I am working on. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a gentle touch on the sandblast portion of the bowl. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished vulcanite stem. This Bari Freehand is a nice looking pipe. It is quite comfortable in hand and should be so when smoking. It is quite light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches wide x 1 ¾ inches long, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.59 ounces/45 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by Danish Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

What a Great Looking Bari Matador hand made in Denmark Freehand

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a pipe that came to us from Long Island, New York, USA on 04/16/2024. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and read Bari [arched over] Matador. Underneath it read Handmade [over] In Denmark. The finish on the pipe was a classic Matador style finish combining smooth and sandblast. The bowl is smooth and the shank is sandblast. There is a smooth band on the underside of the shank that has the stamping on it. The plateau rim top and shank end was dirty with grime and also lava overflowing from the thick cake in the bowl. It was an intriguing pipe with a combination of sandblast and smooth finishes. The fancy saddle stem was vulcanite and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It was oxidized and had some calcification on the end. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took some close-up photos of the rim top and bowl to show the overall condition. There is dust and lava in the grooves of the plateau. The edges have a lava overflow but underneath it appears to be in good condition. The fancy turned vulcanite stem is dirty and has calcification on both sides at the button. There is also some light tooth chatter and some tooth marks. Past the turning the stem is a tapered flair. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos show the beautiful grain around the bowl. Under the dust and grime it was a nice looking bowl. I think it will be a beautiful Freehand pipe once it is restored. He took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above.I have worked on quite a few Bari’s in the past and did the work on the brand information so rather than rework all of that I am including the information I found while working on a Bari De Luxe Freehand. I quoted a section from Pipedia on Bari pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). I am including the material that I found previously on the brand. It is good to be reminded of the fact that Viggo Nielsen was the pipe maker. I quote:

Now that I was reminded about the Viggo Nielsen connection it was time to work on the pipe on my end. When I received it Jeff had once again done an amazing job cleaning the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and soaked in Before & After Deoxidizer. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the plateau rim top to show how clean it was. The inner edge of the rim and the ridges and valleys of the plateau looked good. The stem looked good just some light tooth chatter and tooth marks ahead of the button.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. He was able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. Be careful in your work to preserve this critical part of restoration! I took the stem off and took a photo of the pipe. The pipe was in decent condition so I started with the bowl. I polished the smooth portions of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping down the briar after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The briar began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the smooth briar with my fingertips and the plateau and sandblasted side with a horsehair shoe brush. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. I appreciate Mark Hoover’s work in developing this product. I buffed the pipe with a micro fiber cloth to raise the shine and took photos of it at this point it the process. It is a beautiful looking pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished out the scratch marks left behind by the sandpaper. The stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem surface. I am on the homestretch with this Viggo Nielsen Made Bari Matador Freehand. As always, I am excited to finish a pipe that I am working on. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a gentle touch on the sandblast portion of the bowl. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished vulcanite stem. This Bari Matador Freehand is a nice looking pipe. It is quite comfortable in hand and should be so when smoking. It is quite light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.94 ounces/55 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by Danish Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know.

Replacing a Broken Tenon on a Bari Select Nature Old Briar 924 Oval Shank Acorn

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a beautifully grained Bari Oval Shank Acorn. It is stamped on the topside it reads Bari [over] Select Nature [over] Old Briar. On the underside it reads Made in Denmark [over] the shape number 924. It came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Today is that day I guess! It is very nicely shaped Danish style acorn shaped bowl with a vulcanite saddle stem. I have worked on the shape previously and really like the look of it. The bowl has a thin cake and some lava overflow on the back of the crowned rim top and bevelled inner edge. It appeared to be in excellent condition under the grime. Only cleaning would make that very clear. The vulcanite saddle stem had a Bari logo stamp on the topside of the saddle. It is dirty, oxidized, calcified and has tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly in the shank. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took a photo of the shank end to show the snapped off tenon in the shank. The break is quite clean so it should clean up very well.I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the condition of both. It was clean bowl that had been reamed. There was a spot of lava overflow on the back inner edge and rim top. The inner and outer edges otherwise look very good. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the calcification, oxidation and tooth marks on the stem surface and button.I took photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I also took a photo of the Bari stamp on the topside of the stem.I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html) to see if I could find a listing for the Bari Select Nature Old Briar with this three digit number. There was nothing specifically listed for this line of Bari pipes. There was also good info on the brand as a whole and that it was founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and he ran it until 1978 when Age Bogelund managed the production for them. In 1993 it was sold to Helmer Thomsen. I have included a screen capture of the section below.Pipedia gives a great history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari) that is well worth reading. There were also photos of the Bari stamping on the Select Nature Old Briar line of pipes.

Given the information and background on the pipe I started my work on the pipe. I decided to start by pulling the broken tenon and beginning the process of the replacement. I used a drywall screw to pull the tenon. I screwed it into the airway and wiggled the broken piece out of the shank. The second photo of the bowl below shows the pulled tenon.In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper.I drilled the airway in the stem with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the bit that was the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment. With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure.I needed to adjust the fit of the stem to the shank. The alignment as slightly off on the top and the bottom of the stem and shank. I used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to make the adjustments to the stem and the briar shank. I was careful to not damage either the stamping on the shank of the stamping on the stem. I continued smoothing out the sanded portions of the shanks and stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth after each sanding pad. Since the bowl walls were clean or cake I did not need to ream the bowl. I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It had been reamed but needed to be sanded smooth. It was in great condition. I sanded the bevelled inner edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I stained the sanded areas on the shank and on the rim top with a Cherry stain pen. It blended in very well with the rest of the briar. It is a beauty. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I had a gold band that was the perfect size for the shank. I had a hunch that it might give the shank a bit of bling that would look good. I pressed it in place on the shank. To get a sense of the new look. I really liked the way it looked so I set it in place. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 220 sandpaper to remove the scratching and reshaping marks on the stem. It was looking much better at this point but still had a long way to go.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.The BARI stamping on the stem had some scoring marks between some of the letters that I could not polish out without damaging the stamping so I left them. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. Once again, I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the smooth finish and the black vulcanite stem. This richly stained Bari Select Nature Old Briar 924 Acorn is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy breaking it in. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 44 grams/1.52 ounces. This is one that will go on the Danish Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

A Beautiful Bari Matador Handmade in Denmark Freehand

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a pipe that came to us from Eric in Brazil, Indiana, USA on 10/28/2021. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and read Bari [arched over] Matador. Underneath it read Handmade [over] In Denmark. The finish on the pipe was a classic Matador style finish combining smooth and sandblast. The left side and front of the bowl is smooth and the right side and back of the bowl are sandblast. The shank is sandblasted with a smooth band on the underside of the shank and as a ring around the shank end. The plateau rim top was dirty with grime and also lava overflowing from the thick cake in the bowl. It was an intriguing pipe with a combination of sandblast and smooth finishes. The left side of the bowl is sandblasted and the rest of the bowl is smooth. The rim top of the bowl is a plateau finish. The fancy saddle stem was vulcanite and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. It was oxidized and had some calcification on the end. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took some close-up photos of the rim top and bowl to show the overall condition. There is dust and lava in the grooves of the plateau. The edges have a lava overflow but appear to be in good condition. The fancy turned vulcanite stem is dirty and has calcification on both sides at the button. There is also some tooth chatter and some tooth marks. Past the turning the stem is a tapered panel. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos show the beautiful grain around the bowl. Under the dust and grime it was a nice looking bowl. I think it will be a beautiful Freehand pipe once it is restored. He took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above.I remembered that Paresh has restored a similar Bari Matador and written about it on a blog. It is an informative piece so I have included the link to it here (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/05/15/a-simple-refurbishing-of-a-bari-matador/).

I also have worked on quite a few Bari’s in the past and did the work on the brand information so rather than rework all of that I am including the information I found while working on a Bari De Luxe Freehand. I quoted a section from Pipedia on Bari pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). I am including the material that I found previously on the brand. It is good to be reminded of the fact that Viggo Nielsen was the pipe maker. I quote:

Now that I was reminded about the Viggo Nielsen connection it was time to work on the pipe on my end. When I received it Jeff had once again done an amazing job cleaning the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and soaked in Before & After Deoxidizer. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the plateau rim top to show how clean it was. The inner edge of the rim and the ridges and valleys of the plateau looked good. The stem looked good just some light tooth chatter and tooth marks ahead of the button.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. He was able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. Be careful in your work to preserve this critical part of restoration! I took the stem off and took a photo of the pipe.The pipe was in decent condition so I started with the bowl. I polished the smooth portions of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping down the briar after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The briar began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the smooth briar with my fingertips and the plateau and sandblasted side with a horsehair shoe brush. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. I appreciate Mark Hoover’s work in developing this product. I buffed the pipe with a micro fiber cloth to raise the shine and took photos of it at this point it the process. It is a beautiful looking pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the vulcanite surface with the flame of a lighter – constantly moving the flame over the tooth marks and was able to lift many of them. I filled in the deeper center tooth marks that remained with black rubberized CA glue. Once it cured I flattened the repairs with needle files. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the repairs into the surface. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished out the scratch marks left behind by the sandpaper. The stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem surface. I am on the homestretch with this Viggo Nielsen made Bari Matador Freehand. As always, I am excited to finish a pipe that I am working on. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a gentle touch on the sandblast portion of the bowl. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished vulcanite stem. This Bari Matador Freehand is a nice looking pipe. It is quite comfortable in hand and should be so when smoking. It is quite light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2×2 1/2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.15 ounces/62 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by Danish Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know.

Restoring a Bari Ruby Made in Denmark 8042 Rhodesian

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By Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is a Danish made pipe from the workshop of Viggo Nielsen. It is a great looking long shank ¼ Bent Rhodesian. The pipe came to us from eBay on 01/22/2024 from a seller in Jordan, Minnesota, USA. It has great grain around the bowl and shank with some small fills on the bowl and the shank that are a bit swollen. The pipe is stamped on the left side and clearly reads BARI [over] Ruby and on the right side it reads Made in Denmark [over] 8042. The finish was dirty with dust and grime ground into the briar but great grain still shone through. The pipe is very dirty with a thick cake in the bowl and lava on the rim top. The rim top is thin and looks like the bowl might be slightly out of round but it was hard to know what was under the lava coat on the top and edges. There was a coat of varnish on the bowl that was spotty and uneven. The vulcanite taper stem was oxidized and dirty and had some light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took these photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim and bowl to show the condition of the bowl and rim top. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and a thick coat of lava on the rim top. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. It was oxidized and dirty and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the grain showing through the finish around the bowl and shank sides. The rich reddish stain adds depth to the finish. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the BARI stamp on the left side of the stem. Before I started working on it I did a bit of research on the brand to remind myself of the maker. I have worked on quite a few Bari’s in the past so rather than rework all of that I am including the information I found while working on a Bari Special Handcut Made in Denmark Dublin Freehand (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/07/22/cleaning-up-a-danish-made-bari-special-handcut-b-dublin-freehand/). I quote below from that blog.

I quoted a section from Pipedia on Bari pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). It is good to be reminded of the fact that Viggo Nielsen was the pipe maker.

Helmer Thomson bought the company in 1993 re-naming it to “Bari Piber Helmer Thomsen”. The workshop moved to more convenient buildings in Vejen. Bogelund, who created very respectable freehands of his own during the time at Bari got lost somehow after 1993. Bari’s basic conception fundamentally stayed the same for decades: series pipes pre-worked by machines and carefully finished by hand – thus no spectacular highgrades but solid, reliable every day’s companions were what they turned out. The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

I did a quick look at Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html) and did a screen capture of the section on Bari pipes.Now that I was reminded about the Viggo Nielsen connection it was time to work on the pipe on my end. Jeff had done a great clean up of the pipe. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. He cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and a shank brush. He cleaned the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and the lava on the rim top. There were several fills on the bowl and the shank that were swollen and needed to sanded smooth. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the debris that had accumulated on it. The stem was soaked in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and then rinsed clean. The pipe looked clean and ready for the next step in the process. Here are some photos of it when I brought it to the table. I took photos of the rim top and the top and underside of the stem. You can see the clean bowl and rim top. The rim top showed some light damage on the top and the inner edge of the bowl. The inner edge was slightly out of round with nicks in the briar. The stem has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. It is a nice looking pipe.The next photos show the stamping on the left and right sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. The Bari stamp on the left side of the stem is visible in the first photo below. I also took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show its parts. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the rim top and the inner edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better once finished.To remove the damaged and spotty varnish coat I wiped the bowl down with alcohol on cotton pads. I was able to remove the spotty coat and the briar looked much better. The fills showed clearly on the shank the bowl. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I worked over the damaged fills at the same time. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It really began to take on a shine. I rubbed the bowl down with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, renew and protect briar. I let it do its work for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth. The pipe is really quite a beauty. I set the bowl aside and I polished the stem on both sides using micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded the stem with the 1500-12000 grit pads, then wiped it down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After stem polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This is another pipe I am excited to finish. It is a beautiful Bari Ruby Made in Denmark Bent Rhodesian. I put the pipe back together and buffed it lightly with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem with the golden acrylic spacer. It really was a beautiful pipe. The sandblasted grain shining through the rich browns/black stain on this Bari Ruby Bent Rhodesian is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/47 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a beautiful Bari Select Mandarin Made in Denmark 7824

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a beautifully grained Bari Oval Shank Acorn. It is stamped on the topside it reads Bari [over] Select [over] Mandarin. On the underside it reads Made in Denmark [over] the shape number 7824. It came from a lot we purchased from a seller on eBay on 01/22/2024 from a seller in Jordan, Minnesota, USA. It is very nicely shaped Danish style acorn shaped bowl with a vulcanite saddle stem. The bowl has a thick cake and some lava overflow on the crowned rim top and bevelled inner edge. It was hard to know for certain if there was any damage on the top or rim edges because of the debris covering them both. Only cleaning would make that very clear. The vulcanite saddle stem had a worn Bari logo stamp on the topside of the saddle. It is dirty and has tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the condition of both. It was heavily caked with a lava overflow on the rim top. The inner and outer edges look very good. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the oxidation and tooth marks on the stem surface and button. Jeff took photos of the heel and the side of the bowl and shank to show the grain on the pipe. It is a beauty. Jeff took photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the faint Bari stamp on the topside of the stem. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html) to see if I could find a listing for the Bari Select Mandarin with this four digit number. There was nothing specifically listed for this line of Bari pipes. There was also good info on the brand as a whole and that it was founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and he ran it until 1978 when Age Bogelund managed the production for them. In 1993 it was sold to Helmer Thomsen. I have included a screen capture of the section below.Pipedia gives a great history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari) that is well worth reading. There were also photos of the Bari stamping on the Select Mandarin line of pipes.

Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top and edges looked very good. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked better and the deep tooth marks and chatter on the surface were also visible. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked much better than when he found it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks very good and the bowl is spotless. The stem still shows some light oxidation remaining and some tooth chatter and marks on both sides near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the top and underside of the shank. The stamping was faint in spots but still readable. It reads as noted above. I took the bowl and stem apart and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks on the surface of the stem and was able to lift all of them other than the one deep one on the underside. I filled in the mark with clear super glue. Once the repairs cured I flattened them out with 220 sandpaper to blend them into the surface. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.I touched up the Bari white logo on the stem with acrylic white fingernail polish. Once it dried I buffed off the excess with a cotton pad. The BA are too faintly stamped to take in the acrylic so the stamp is incomplete. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil once more.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. Once again, I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the smooth finish and the black vulcanite stem. This richly stained Bari Select Madarin 7824 Acorn is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy breaking it in. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 50 grams/1.76 ounces. This is one that will go on the Danish Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Restoring a ¾ Bent Bari Pearl 7075 with a Bamboo Shank

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I visited my Father a few weeks ago I also visited with Jeff and his wife. I went through the pipes that we had boxed there and pulled out several Bamboo shank pipes. I have worked on quite a few over the past week and this is another one. It was a ¾ Bent Apple with a patinaed Bamboo shank. It had a vulcanite spacer between the briar and the one knuckle piece of bamboo and another one at the shank end. It was a nice Apple shaped pipe with some great grain around the sides and shank. I had a thick coat of varnish on the bowl that made it very shiny. The bowl was dirty and the top had some darkening and slight damage on the thin top and inner edge. The bowl had a moderate cake in it and the pipe smelled dirty. There was some grime and grit ground into the sides and bottom of the bowl. It was hard to know whether it was over or under the varnish coat. Under light the shininess had some dull spots in it. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank and read BARI [over] PEARL. On the right side it was stamped Made In [over] Denmark and on the under side it was stamped with the shape number 7075. The bamboo had a nice patina to it that showed that it had been someone’s favourite and had been well smoked. The shank end was smooth and had a tight fit. The stem had some oxidation, calcification and some light tooth chatter on both sides. I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the work table. I took a photo of the rim top and edges to show the condition. You can see that it is darkening on thin top and edges. You can also see the shiny cake in the bowl. The stem looks good with light chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It read as noted above. It is clear and readable under the varnish coat. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the flow of the pipe. It is truly a unique pipe and the grain shows well in the photo. I turned to Pipephil to see if I could find information on the Pearl model but there was nothing there on the model (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html). I quote from the sidebar below and also have included a screen capture of the information.

Brand founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and sold to Van Eicken Tobaccos in 1978. At this time Age Bogelund managed Bari’s production. The company has been bought in 1993 by Helmer Thomsen. Bari’s second: Don, Proctus. I then turned to Pipedia for some history of the brand and also to see if there as information on the Pearl model (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). I have included the history below. There was also a photo that was done by Smoking Pipes.com and had a copyright so I did not include it. It did help me determine the kind of stem to use on the pipe.

Bari Piber was founded by Viggo Nielsen in Kolding around the turn of 1950/51. Viggo’s sons Kai Nielsen and Jørgen Nielsen both grew into their father’s business from a very young age and worked there till 1975.

Bari had very successfully adapted the new Danish Design that had been started mainly by Stanwell for it’s own models. When Viggo Nielsen sold Bari in 1978 to Joh. Wilh. von Eicken GmbH in Hamburg Bari counted 33 employees.

From 1978 to 1993 Åge Bogelund and Helmer Thomsen headed Bari’s pipe production. Thomson bought the company in 1993 re-naming it to Bari Piber Helmer Thomsen. The workshop moved to more convenient buildings in Vejen. Bogelund, who created very respectable freehands of his own during the time at Bari got lost somehow after 1993.

Bari’s basic conception fundamentally stayed the same for decades: series pipes pre-worked by machines and carefully finished by hand. Thus no spectacular highgrades but solid, reliable every day’s companions.

The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

With that information reviewed, it was time to work on the pipe. I decided to remove the shiny finish from the bowl with acetone and cotton pads. I wanted to remove the surface coat and also the grim that was both under and over the varnish coat. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape the cake out of the bowl. I took it back to bare briar. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel.I cleaned out the internals of the pipe – the airway in the shank, the mortise and the airway in the stem. The shank was quite dirty and many pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and 99% isopropyl alcohol removed the dirt and oils and left the pipe smelling clean and fresh.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. After each pad I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It really took on a shine by the last three sanding pads. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar where it works to clean, restore and preserve the briar. I let it do its magic for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The pipe looks incredibly good at this point in the process. I set the bowl aside at this point and turned my attention to the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. I know that many say Obsidian Oil does nothing for acrylic stems, but I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from buildup and second it gives the sanding pads bite in the polishing process.I have found that Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish works well to remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. I am excited to finish restoration of this Bari Pearl 7075 Bamboo Shank ¾ Bent Apple. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This smooth Bari Pearl Bamboo Shank Bent Apple is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams/ 1.38 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers Section soon. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know by email or message. Thanks for your time reading this blog and as usual feel free to ask any questions in the comments below.

Restoring a Bari Made in Denmark Bent Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe was another interesting pipe that surprised both Jeff and me when it came in a lot of pipes that we bought it from the fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark on January 26, 2023. This one is another beautiful Bari pipe. It has great grain around the bowl and shank. The pipe is stamped on the left side and clearly reads BARI and on the right side it reads Made in Denmark. There is no shape number on the shank. The rim top is crowned curving inward with a bevel toward the bowl. The inner and outer edges clean. The bowl had been reamed recently and the rim top was clean. The finish was dirty with dust and grim ground into the briar but great grain still shone through. The vulcanite taper stem was lightly oxidized and dirty and had some light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took these photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim and bowl to show the condition of the bowl and rim top. You can see the reamed bowl walls and the clean rim top. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. It was lightly oxidized and dirty and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the rich grain around the bowl and shank sides. The brown stain adds depth to the finish. He took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It was clear and readable. (There was no photo of the stamping on the right side.)Before I started working on it I did a bit of research on the brand to remind myself of the maker. I have worked on quite a few Bari’s in the past so rather than rework all of that I am including the information I found while working on a Bari Special Handcut Made in Denmark Dublin Freehand (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/07/22/cleaning-up-a-danish-made-bari-special-handcut-b-dublin-freehand/). I quote below from that blog.

I quoted a section from Pipedia on Bari pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). It is good to be reminded of the fact that Viggo Nielsen was the pipe maker.

Helmer Thomson bought the company in 1993 re-naming it to “Bari Piber Helmer Thomsen”. The workshop moved to more convenient buildings in Vejen. Bogelund, who created very respectable freehands of his own during the time at Bari got lost somehow after 1993. Bari’s basic conception fundamentally stayed the same for decades: series pipes pre-worked by machines and carefully finished by hand – thus no spectacular highgrades but solid, reliable every day’s companions were what they turned out. The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

I did a quick look at Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html) and did a screen capture of the section on Bari pipes.Now that I was reminded about the Viggo Nielsen connection it was time to work on the pipe on my end.
Jeff had done a great clean up of the pipe. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. He cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He cleaned the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and the lava on the rim top. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the debris that had accumulated on it. The stem was soaked in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and then rinsed clean. The pipe looked clean and ready for the next step in the process. Here are some photos of it when I brought it to the table. I took photos of the rim top and the top and underside of the stem. You can see the clean bowl and rim top. The stem has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. It is dirty but otherwise great. It is a nice looking pipe.The next photos show the stamping on the left and right sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. There is also a small portion of the Bari stamp on the left side of the stem in the first photo below.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the overall look of the pipe. It is really a nicely looking pipe that will look great once it is cleaned up.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It really began to take on a shine. I rubbed the bowl down with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, renew and protect briar. I let it do its work for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth. The pipe is really quite a beauty. I polished the stem on both sides using micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded the stem with the 1500-12000 grit pads, then wiped it down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After stem polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This is another pipe I am excited to finish. It is a Bari Made in Denmark Bent Dublin. I put the pipe back together and buffed it lightly with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem with the golden acrylic spacer. It really was a beautiful pipe. The sandblasted grain shining through the rich browns/black stain on this Bari Made in Dublin is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.27 ounces/36 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Sidle Up to the Bari

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is a charming Danish pipe, likely by Bari. I say “likely” because it does not specifically name Bari on the pipe, but Steve assured me that he has seen other Bari pipes like it. He feels comfortable calling it a Bari and that is more than good enough for me. His imprimatur is worth its weight in gold! There was only one marking on the pipe – the underside of the stummel read Made in [over] Denmark. There was no shape number or any other identifying marks.This freehand pipe is quite beautiful and many of its curves are reminiscent of ski slopes from my youth. It is a pretty pipe and feels light and comfortable in the hand.

From Pipedia, here is a very brief history of the Bari company:

Bari Piber was founded by Viggo Nielsen in Kolding around the turn of 1950-51. Viggo’s sons Kai Nielsen and Jørgen Nielsen both grew into their father’s business from a very young age and worked there till 1975. Bari had very successfully adapted the new Danish Design that had been started mainly by Stanwell for its own models. When Viggo Nielsen sold Bari in 1978 to Joh. Wilh. von Eicken GmbH in Hamburg, Bari counted 33 employees. From 1978 to 1993 Åge Bogelund and Helmer Thomsen headed Bari’s pipe production. Thomsen bought the company in 1993 re-naming it to Bari Piber Helmer Thomsen. The workshop moved to more convenient buildings in Vejen. Bari’s basic conception fundamentally stayed the same for decades: series pipes pre-worked by machines and carefully finished by hand. Thus no spectacular highgrades but solid, reliable every day’s companions.On to the pipe: it was in decent shape, but there were a few issues. The stem had a bit of oxidation and a LOT of calcification, though fortunately, very few bite marks. The stummel also had a few issues. The outside of the bowl had some dings and a couple of fills that needed to be addressed. The wood also had some stains and paint splatter. There was lava and debris on the rim, and a small burn mark. Most significantly, there was a chunk missing from around the mortise end of the shank. Some serious repair work was needed there! The stem was first on my list. I wiped down the outside of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. There was so much calcification on the stem that I decided to take a blade and gently scrape it all off. You can see in the photos how much came off! I also took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame in order to lift the few bite marks and dents. This was moderately successful in raising the damage. Then, I cleaned out the insides with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It was pretty dirty and required quite a few pipe cleaners. Once this process was done, the stem went for an overnight soak in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. The following day, I cleaned all of the de-oxidizing mess off with alcohol, pipe cleaners, et cetera. The oxidation had migrated to the surface and would be fairly straightforward to remove. I scrubbed with SoftScrub on some cotton pads to remove the leftover oxidation on the stem. I built up the dents on the stem with cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure. Then I sanded the adhesive down with 220-, 400-, and 600-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. Finally, I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre on the stem. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing.On to the stummel, and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. I first decided to ream out the bowl. I used both the PipNet Reamer and the KleenReem to remove the built-up cake and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper to eliminate as much as I could. I took the bowl down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there were none. I used a small butter knife to gently chip away at the lava on the rim and used more Murphy’s with a scrub brush to remove any remainder. This actually worked quite well. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads. That removed any latent dirt that blighted the wood. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was some filth inside this stummel and it took quite a bit of cotton to get it clean. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes.A de-ghosting session also seemed in order, so I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. Now it was time for the serious work: to fix the large gouge in the mortise, at the end of the shank. There were several problems to be addressed: to ensure that the repair was structurally sound, so it could withstand the wear and tear of the tenon going in and out; to ensure that the repair looked reasonably consonant with the surrounding wood, and to ensure that the inside of the mortise was smooth and conformed perfectly to the shape of the tenon. The repair was made with a mixture of briar dust and cyanoacrylate adhesive. This ensures a strong repair and one that looks similar to the surrounding wood. As it turned out, I had to build up the repair more than once to achieve the results I wanted. It was fairly straightforward to sand down the flat end of the shank, but it was very difficult to ensure that the inside of the mortise matched perfectly with the tenon. Honestly, it took a bit of trial and error to get it right. I sanded the repair down with a file and 200- and 400-grit sandpaper until it was level with the surrounding briar. Having completed that, I was able to address the small nicks on the rim and the bowl. I dug out my iron and a damp cloth to try to raise the nicks. The hot and moist steam can often cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. There was some movement – not a lot, but it was better than doing nothing. The repair was not perfect, but the remaining scratches would be improved by sanding. Now I could address the burn on the rim. I took some oxalic acid, used several Q-tips, and rubbed. The burn improved quite a bit. The burn was very superficial and did not affect the integrity of the wood at all.After removing the burn and checking in on the mortise repair to ensure its integrity, I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the stummel to finish it off. After that, a light application of Before & After Restoration Balm brought out the best in the stummel’s grain. This is a very elegant Danish pipe. At this point, I checked in with Steve to see what he thought of the restoration so far. He made the excellent suggestion of applying a layer of Fiebing’s Black Leather Dye to the rim and the mortise-end of the shank. After applying the dye, flaming it, and letting it set, I wiped those areas down with isopropyl alcohol to remove most of the dye. The goal here was to accentuate the grain on those particular areas of the pipe with only residual amounts of black dye. In order to further the external beauty of this pipe, I applied some of Fiebing’s Medium Brown Leather Dye over the entire stummel. As usual, I applied flame from a BIC lighter in order to set the colour. I then added a second coat – just to make sure. It looked so much better with a richer colour. I then used some isopropyl alcohol to wipe down the pipe and remove some excess dye. At this point, I chose to re-sand the stummel with all of the micromesh pads. I followed up with some more Before & After Restoration Balm. What a wonderful result! Then it was off for a trip to the buffer. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax were just what this pipe needed. The lovely shine made the wood look absolutely beautiful. In fact, it turned out so well that this pipe has already sold! I know that the new owner will enjoy smoking it for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring and Restemming a Bari Pearl 7075 with a Bamboo Shank

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Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff and I went through all the bowls that we had in boxes at his place recently. We wanted to consolidate them into one place and clean them all up. We sorted them as we went through them all. Many ended up being junk while a large number went into a box to be sent to me for restemming. One of those which caught my attention was an interesting bowl with a well coloured bamboo shank. It had a vulcanite spacer between the briar and the one knuckle piece of bamboo and another one at the shank end. It was a nice Brandy shape pipe with some great grain around the sides and shank. The bowl had been smoked and the top had some darkening and slight damage on the flat top and inner edge. The bamboo had a nice patina to it that showed that it had been someone’s favourite and had been well smoked. The shank end was smooth so a tight fit would be easy to do. It was stamped on the underside of the shank and read BARI [over] Pearl [over] Made In [over] Denmark [over] 7075 which is the shape number. Jeff had reamed and cleaned it before he sent it to me so it was in good shape when it arrived today. When I unpacked the box of bowls this one caught my eye. I wanted to restem it so I pulled it out to work on next. I took a photo of the rim top and edges to show the condition. You can see that it is damaged on the top and both edges. There is some darkening on the top and edges and there are some rough spots around the bowl top and edges. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It reads as noted above. It is clear and readable though faint in spots.I turned to Pipephil to see if I could find information on the Pearl model but there was nothing there on the model (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html). I quote from the sidebar below and also have included a screen capture of the information.

Brand founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and sold to Van Eicken Tobaccos in 1978. At this time Age Bogelund managed Bari’s production. The company has been bought in 1993 by Helmer Thomsen. Bari’s second: Don, Proctus. I then turned to Pipedia for some history of the brand and also to see if there as information on the Pearl model (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). I have included the history below. There was also a photo that was done by Smoking Pipes.com and had a copy right so I did not include it. It did help me determine the kind of stem to use on the pipe.

The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

I did a quick Google search for the Bari Pearl pipe and found that Smokingpipes.com had quite a few different shapes of the model. It was interesting that all of them had a single knuckle like the one that I was working on and that the bamboo had been shaped and tapered on the front toward the bowl and toward the shank end. All of them had a vulcanite space on both ends of the bamboo. They were pretty pipes.

I then turned to Pipedia for some history of the brand and also to see if there as information on the Pearl model (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). I have included the history below. There was also a photo that was done by Smoking Pipes.com and had a copy right so I did not include it. It did help me determine the kind of stem to use on the pipe.

The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

With that it was time to work on the pipe. I went through my cans of stems and found three possibilities. Two of them were short saddle stems and one was a longer taper stem. I tried all three of them and my daughters and I decided to use the tapered longer one. It is similar in shape to several of the ones I saw in the photos of the Pearl on Google. I lightly sanded the shank end of the stem and the tenon and fit it in the shank of the pipe. I took photos of it to give a sense of the look. The fit against the shank is very good. I reshaped the shank end to make the transition between the shank space and the stem smooth with my Dremel and a sanding drum. I need to fine tune the fit but the look is very good.I filled in some pits on the shank end and on the top of the stem surface ahead of the button using black super glue. I also filled in some damaged spots on the shank end of the stem with the glue. I flattened the repaired areas with a flat file to smooth them out and blend them into the surface. I started sanding the surface smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I heated some water in a coffee mug and dipped the stem into the boiling water to soften it. Once it was pliable I gave it a slight bend to adjust the look of the shank and stem.I had some more sanding to do at the stem shank transition and the repaired area on the topside of the stem near the button but the fit and shape of the pipe and stem was starting to look very nice. I took photos of the pipe at this point in the process. I set the stem aside for awhile and turned my attention to the bowl. I worked over the rim top and edges of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper. I smoothed out the nicks on the top and edges and reshaped the inner edge. The rim top and edges looked much better at this point.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. After each pad I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It really took on a shine by the last three sanding pads. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar where it works to clean, restore and preserve the briar. I let it do its magic for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The pipe looks incredibly good at this point in the process. With that the bowl had come a long way from when I started working on it. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to finish removing the scratch a marks. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I continued to polish the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil one more time. I am excited to finish the restemming and restoration of this Bari Pearl 7075 Bamboo Shank Brandy. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This smooth Bari Pearl Bamboo Shank Brandy is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 7 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 46 grams/ 1.62 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers Section soon. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know by email or message. Thanks for your time reading this blog and as Paresh says each time – Stay Safe.